I got a favorite part that never made it on the show was I had a bike accident where my little gnome broke into several pieces and I had to pee outside somewhere in Beijing during racing because I couldn't hold it much longer as well!

So, is there a penalty for breaking the gnome?

Okay. Admit it Luke. Did any other racers have pee problems in China? I mean, Jaime looked really pissed. (pun intended )

Haha, I had no idea about others. When I had to pee outside, my cameraman was right into my face and filmed me while I was peeing! I was like, get out of my way! I know one racer had to pee outside during a leg in Germany but I am not going to say who otherwise that person will kill me if i say that person's name!

Deaf or not, nice or evil, that's still wrong on so many levels. The cameraman should've just left you to pee. It's not like you smuggled a phone or something.

I have a question: During the Final Roadblock, I wondered why you chose the Skull for one of three legs in China (If I'm not mistaken, Leg 11?), where in the episode, we clearly couldn't see one... was there some other place that you have visited or was it the call of panic and stress? And were you expecting a Superleg in Beijing at that time? Thanks a lot and Kudos to a Fantastic (one of my best) season!

I really want to know because to me it seems like the last few seasons have had legs that were too short compared to older seasons.

Oh, and another random question: Did you get to keep your clues as "mementos" after the Race?

There were several unaired locations/clueboxes on several legs. There was one unaired cluebox in Romania episode - that cluebox location where we had to go to after the roadblock was like an hour away from the train station. If we didn't have to go to that cluebox location and went to the train station straight instead then Amanda + Kris, Mike +Mel and my mom and I would be able to catch the last train. We would be pretty far ahead of everybody else in that leg. That would have made the episode boring!

At least, there was an extra leg on my season compare to last two seasons! But yeah, it seems like there weren't a lot of general tasks on my season, compare to other seasons. No, we didn't get to keep anything from the race.

I have a question: During the Final Roadblock, I wondered why you chose the Skull for one of three legs in China (If I'm not mistaken, Leg 11?), where in the episode, we clearly couldn't see one... was there some other place that you have visited or was it the call of panic and stress? And were you expecting a Superleg in Beijing at that time? Thanks a lot and Kudos to a Fantastic (one of my best) season!

I didn't know what I was thinking about pulling that skull one up! When I got down to last two surfboards, my mind was utterly exhausted. I was racking through my mind like 100 mph trying to remember everything what we did on the race.

I had NO idea that there were going to be TBC leg! I thought there would be only 11 legs on my season. TBC has totally threw me off the track. If it wasn't for TBC, we would have won the race.

I have a question: During the Final Roadblock, I wondered why you chose the Skull for one of three legs in China (If I'm not mistaken, Leg 11?), where in the episode, we clearly couldn't see one... was there some other place that you have visited or was it the call of panic and stress? And were you expecting a Superleg in Beijing at that time? Thanks a lot and Kudos to a Fantastic (one of my best) season!

I didn't know what I was thinking about pulling that skull one up! When I got down to last two surfboards, my mind was utterly exhausted. I was racking through my mind like 100 mph trying to remember everything what we did on the race.

I had NO idea that there were going to be TBC leg! I thought there would be only 11 legs on my season. TBC has totally threw me off the track. If it wasn't for TBC, we would have won the race.

Thanks for responding, Luke! The TBC quite shocked me as well, it looks like they considered the TBC 2 single length legs for the final task too...

Regarding the mementos... wouldn't they ever give you the Tiger picture, even if the race is already over? That was so cool!

Soon as Mom fainted on the mat, the producers forced me to drink lot of water much as I could right away - they were afraid that I might have a heat stroke as well then I puked out all over on ground. After that, I got really dizzy and was forced to go back to cab so I could pay the fare and get our bags. I forgot to take that tiger picture out - it was on the backseat. :-(

I guess I have to find that cab driver and ask him to mail that tiger picture to us, haha.

Soon as Mom fainted on the mat, the producers forced me to drink lot of water much as I could right away - they were afraid that I might have a heat stroke as well then I puked out all over on ground. After that, I got really dizzy and was forced to go back to cab so I could pay the fare and get our bags. I forgot to take that tiger picture out - it was on the backseat. :-(

I guess I have to find that cab driver and ask him to mail that tiger picture to us, haha.

Or you can go back to Thailand for another visit with your mom!

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"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

Soon as Mom fainted on the mat, the producers forced me to drink lot of water much as I could right away - they were afraid that I might have a heat stroke as well then I puked out all over on ground. After that, I got really dizzy and was forced to go back to cab so I could pay the fare and get our bags. I forgot to take that tiger picture out - it was on the backseat. :-(

I guess I have to find that cab driver and ask him to mail that tiger picture to us, haha.

That's too bad you lost the pic. What was your reaction when you sat next to Esso?

"I can't speak for production, but I really like that people see us when we're traveling around the world. If you're a fan of the show, ... you're going to be more excited because you want to see what happens." --Phil Keoghan

Luke you are cracking me up because you fit right in here with all us crazy addicts and we are thrilled that you are here with us in the looney bin Tiger picture now where is that tiger picture ..............let me look around and see what quality I could grab for you

Soon as Mom fainted on the mat, the producers forced me to drink lot of water much as I could right away - they were afraid that I might have a heat stroke as well then I puked out all over on ground. After that, I got really dizzy and was forced to go back to cab so I could pay the fare and get our bags. I forgot to take that tiger picture out - it was on the backseat. :-(

I guess I have to find that cab driver and ask him to mail that tiger picture to us, haha.

Or you can go back to Thailand for another visit with your mom!

My mom and I want to go back to Phuket someday. The hotel we stayed during pit stop was just so awe and beautiful! We had a great view of ocean! Our room was right next to Jaime and Cara's - we wrote on notepad, tossed back and forth. It was pretty funny - we weren't sure if producers were standing outside and watching us to make sure that teams don't communicate with each other. In Bangkok, our room was right next to Jaime and Cara's again and we tossed notes back and forth as well. We had no idea why producers kept putting our room next to Jaime and Cara's!

For Esso the tiger, it was AWESOME! I didn't see a man with missing arm. After we left the zoo, Mom was like, "Did you see that man with no arm?!" I was like, no way!

Luke you are cracking me up because you fit right in here with all us crazy addicts and we are thrilled that you are here with us in the looney bin Tiger picture now where is that tiger picture ..............let me look around and see what quality I could grab for you

Haha, Im not sure if I should post on here or not since some people weren't happy with me about the fight between Jen + me and the blind u-turn. Since I u-turned Kris right before the underwear roadblock, I talked to Kris about underwear roadblock - he said Amanda would have done that roadblock just to even the numbers of roadblock performance between Kris and Amanda. So y'all won't get to see Kris in his underwear so you guys can't hold that against me for u-turn Kris!

Haha, Im not sure if I should post on here or not since some people weren't happy with me about the fight between Jen + me and the blind u-turn. Since I u-turned Kris right before the underwear roadblock, I talked to Kris about underwear roadblock - he said Amanda would have done that roadblock just to even the numbers of roadblock performance between Kris and Amanda. So y'all won't get to see Kris in his underwear so you guys can't hold that against me for u-turn Kris!

But, I'm glad that I'm posting with you guys!

u-turns and fights indeed made others unhappy - but not for long, as many would understand that it's all part of the game, and for some, media extends something small to something catastrophic, but that's how the game should be, right? Luke, thanks for posting here! We hope to see you post more, and even in the tar fantasy games! Heehee...

Haha, Im not sure if I should post on here or not since some people weren't happy with me about the fight between Jen + me and the blind u-turn. Since I u-turned Kris right before the underwear roadblock, I talked to Kris about underwear roadblock - he said Amanda would have done that roadblock just to even the numbers of roadblock performance between Kris and Amanda. So y'all won't get to see Kris in his underwear so you guys can't hold that against me for u-turn Kris!

But, I'm glad that I'm posting with you guys!

I was neutral on the Jen & Kisha thing Luke, I said when all is said and done you are all still friends in the end. If anything you all gave the Race some drama that we have never witnessed before so I thank you for the entertainment! And who cares what the other posters write? At least were not cruel and hurt peoples feelings like the sucksters, to name one board, do.

Haha, Im not sure if I should post on here or not since some people weren't happy with me about the fight between Jen + me and the blind u-turn. Since I u-turned Kris right before the underwear roadblock, I talked to Kris about underwear roadblock - he said Amanda would have done that roadblock just to even the numbers of roadblock performance between Kris and Amanda. So y'all won't get to see Kris in his underwear so you guys can't hold that against me for u-turn Kris!

But, I'm glad that I'm posting with you guys!

The blind U-turn was a surprise, and I find it SO interesting that y'all could have used it again! That would have shocked us all

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"I can't speak for production, but I really like that people see us when we're traveling around the world. If you're a fan of the show, ... you're going to be more excited because you want to see what happens." --Phil Keoghan

May 20, 2009 Amazing Luke Reichen Lemhkuhl and then-partner Chip Arndt won season 4 of The Amazing Race, and now a second gay man has finished in the top three. But Luke Adams was known to viewers not for being gay ... but for being deaf.

Luke, 23, and his mother, Margie, made a formidable team, finishing consistently in the top four throughout the competition, and they were just one surfboard short of winning the million-dollar first prize.

In a reality show that has competitors traversing continents and cultures, communication is crucial to a teamís success, and Lukeís being deaf would seem to put his team at a distinct disadvantage.

Quite the contrary. Luke and his mom have developed a special line of communication -- a hybrid of standardized American Sign Language and home sign -- that served them well on the show, enabling them to work out strategies and tactics in front of other competitors without giving anything away.

Advocate.com caught up with Luke a few days after the May 10 airing of the final episode of season 14, which showed Team Victor and Tammy clinching first place, Cara and Jaime in second, and Luke and Margie in third.

Advocate.com: You guys taped this season of The Amazing Race last November. When did you get to screen the episodes? Luke Adams: When it premiered on TV in February. We didnít get any special treatment from the producers. We just watched it along with the rest of the TV viewing audience.

Had you told your family how well you placed? No, we kept it a secret. We wanted them to be surprised that we made it to the final three.

You applied several times to be on Race before finally being accepted. How did you convince your mom to join you?It wasnít that hard to convince her to try out with me because she didnít think we would be selected! So the joke was on her! But weíve always had a very close relationship. Sheís a great mom who has always supported everything I do.

Tell me about coming out to your family. I came out to my mom at 19, when I was in college in Rochester, N.Y. I texted her -- she was back home in Colorado -- but I was pretty nervous about it. I come from a large family with a lot of cousins, but there arenít any other gay people in our family, so I wasnít sure how she would react. But she was very supportive and said, ďItís about time you told me!Ē adding that she knew I was gay before I did. I joked that she should have just told me instead of letting me try to figure it out on my own.

Were there any surprises when you watched the episodes on TV? Did you feel any of the teammates were portrayed unfairly? Thatís a good question. There were some really good moments that werenít shown, and I was surprised that Linda [who competed with husband Steve] used private transportation in the second episode. I would say most team members were portrayed accurately, but remember, I couldnít hear any of their conversations, much less the tone of voice they were using. I was surprised I was made to look like a villain!

In what way? Well, Mike White called me a sinister kid, and there was a lot of focus on the fight between me and Jen [who competed with sister Kisha].

That little skirmish was obviously more a function of everyone being stressed out and fatigued. But I really felt for your mom when she jumped to your defense because she thought Jen was laughing at you. Yeah, it was tough for me growing up, because kids would always make fun of me for being deaf. Sometimes I would feel like an animal in the zoo because of the way people would always stare when I would sign in public. But people donít do that as much now as they did 10 years ago -- theyíre becoming more aware of ASL and deaf culture.

I guess we can thank Marlee Matlin for that! Iím not sure sheís the reason!

You mentioned Mike White. Did you get along with him and his dad, Mel? Did they know youíre gay? Oh, yes, we got along. And my mom told them Iím gay on the first day!

They were pegged as the gay team, but your sexual orientation was never mentioned. Did the producers tell you to tone down any discussion of being gay? No, they actually let me talk about it, but I guess that all got cut. I suppose they didnít want to muddle things by giving me two labels -- deaf and gay -- so Mel and Mike had their gay story line, and I had my deaf story line. A lot of people have told me they wished I had had a ďgay and deafĒ story line, because there arenít many deaf gays on TV. It didnít really bother me, though. I just thought it was funny watching people try to figure out whether I was gay or straight!

And apparently Kisha is lesbian, and that certainly never came up. Yeah, I was surprised to find that out.

Who were your best friends on the show?Cara and Jaime -- I adore them to death! We formed an alliance on day 1. They were the team I could trust the most. They opened up to me right away, writing notes to me and learning some signs and how to finger-spell. I really appreciated the effort they made to communicate with me. Itís just amazing that we managed to carry our alliance until the end.

Did anyone else attempt to learn how to finger-spell? Victor and Tammy did, and so did Mike White.

Which was your favorite challenge? And least favorite? I had two favorites: the cheese-carry and the pig-carry. Both were physical challenges that Mom and I excelled at. The cheese challenge was a lot more grueling than it looked on TV, because the hill was so steep and slippery from all the mud and cow poop. We really made up a lot of time on the pig challenge, blowing past Victor and Tammy and Cara and Jaime. Plus, since we used to live in Hawaii, weíd been to lots of luaus and knew how to properly bury the pig.

My least favorite was the makeup challenge at the opera house. I had no idea how to apply makeup on my mom!

You seemed to really relish the bungee jump in the first episode. That was the equivalent of falling 70 stories! That was awesome! Iíd love to do it again. I did have a few problems with the bungee cord, though, because the rope they sent down to clip to the cord got all tangled up, and it really took me a while to untangle it. But I came back up in one piece!

What were your favorite destinations?I loved Switzerland -- it was really beautiful. And Guilan, China, was awe-inspiring. Iíd love to go back there. Mom and I really enjoyed Bangkok too -- we took a boat ride that really gave us a chance to kick back and relax. My least favorite would have to be Siberia -- it was so isolated and freezing! But the people were super friendly.

You were visibly moved to tears by the poverty you witnessed in India. Tell me about that experience. I never thought in a million years that I would get a chance to visit India. And while Iíve seen that kind of poverty on TV, the depth of it didnít really hit me until we were there. It was really hard for me emotionally to see little kids literally fighting for their survival on the streets and eating garbage. While we were stopped at a red light, a little girl came up to our cab and tried to sell us a newspaper. She was really dirty and her little green dress was all tattered, but she just smiled at me like everything was OK. Kids donít deserve that. It really made me realize how lucky I am to have the life I have and a roof over my head.

Did you ever have any free time for sightseeing or come across any gay bars in your travels? [Laughs] Well, we had a 36-hour pit stop in Brasov, Romania, where we got a chance to tour Draculaís castle -- that was awesome. Other than that, though, we didnít have much time to explore.

Do you think the special communication between you and your mom gave you an advantage on the show? It was a huge advantage for us. Also, since we were unable to talk -- or bicker! -- while we were in the middle of challenges, we flew through them, where a lot of the other teams lost a lot of time bickering. Plus, where many of the teams couldnít communicate with the locals because of the language difference, I could use gestures to tell them where we needed to go.

Were there any times you felt your deafness was a disadvantage? Only when we were driving a car, and in that case Mom and I made a strategic decision that she do all the driving, because if we got lost, she could pull over and ask for directions.

Whatís the one thing youíll remember most about your experience on The Amazing Race?Iím just proud of my achievement on The Amazing Race. A lot of people told me I would never get picked to be on the show because of my deafness, but look at what I just did! The experience itself was worth a million dollarshttp://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid84747.asp